


yesterdays light circus

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen, Inspired by The Walking Dead, Multi, zombie!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-15
Updated: 2013-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-23 14:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/927319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>None of them know if it is worth it, and they never will. There is never enough time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	yesterdays light circus

**Author's Note:**

> May write more of the group's deaths and survival, I am unsure. Be gentle on my writing, I'm still trying to get back in the swing of things. Tense is kind of messed up, etc.

They line them up.

In the beginning, there is nothing but utter panic. Not a single person within the cities they’re set to watch over is controlled. They try to fight the infection, a desperate and brutal sight. No one knows what to do, and fallen comrades rise up again only to attack their allies. Mindlessly violent, brutal even as their guts hang, broken legs and ribs only furthering their hunger. From humans to animals they go, ripping their friends up one by one. If they fire at their attackers, nothing happens and before long, the towns they pass through all turn to red zones. It signals the livings defeat.

High up, armed with pretty little knives, thick blocky guns meant to kill, Eren and his friends watch it all. 

They - the ones at the top, military leaders and soldiers - set out a call through radios. There is still that; the world is crumbling, electricity failing, but that is something manageable. It’s been a week since the dead rose up, and so far their four towns have all crumbled. Ones they’d been set to watch over and destroy before the infection could spread.

But the commanders still have their ideas. Setting up a camp is a feat, but it is solid. They take a clean little city off to the side, raising walls and lining it with wire. Their resources are still strong, two weeks in. Tanks and guns, ammo and food, all is available. They call the living over, tell them there is hope in the camp. A chance to survive. Within a day, many gather outside the walls, and they are let in, one by one being checked for bites or scratches. They name the walls. Maria stands tall, a clear safe haven. 

There is a limited supply of weapons presented to the soldiers of one small group stationed there, and they are told _take what suits you best_. They are advised in privacy to gather bags of supplies, to be ready to run. They are advised to stay together and to stay strong.

The camp will not last long, Corporal Rivaille tells them, but they still hope otherwise. 

They are soldiers still, and so they line up proudly and watch people pass through into their safety. _Contaminating it_ , Jean hisses. Eren stomps on his foot and tells him he is not a real solider if he cannot protect the civilians. 

“If a single one of those people have bites - if they’re already half turned, even, who do you think is going to take the fall for that, huh? This _entire camp_ could go under in a day if these fucks are infected!” 

Jean is right. Eren knows it, the leaders know it, everyone with half a brain knows it. But Eren stands his ground. “Then you get on check-up duty! Be there to stop them from coming in!” Jean falls silent. Not one of the previous trainees would volunteer for that. The risk of being bitten yourself was too strong. Many weren’t allowed to, not yet anyways. If the chance presented itself, Eren knew Jean would happily stay as a guard.

Three days pass, more and more civilians entering their safe zone. Their group is called out to the back of the camp on the morning of the fourth. They assume it is an unmanned area since they were previously told so, but that is wrong, as a large portion of the higher ups wait for them.

They are given shovels. They are told to dig until the sun sets. 

Soldiers they are, completing their duty without complaint and digging throughout the day. Though Jean hisses that it is back-breaking labour and that it is completely pointless. Ymir takes Christa’s shovel and tries to force her to break, while Reiner digs furiously on behalf of Armin’s weakness. Mikasa insists Eren drink extra water from her pouch.

It is clear there's more to them than the cold exterior they're told to bear. They are all close friends, sharing the hard times as well as the good times.

At nightfall, they are sent off to clean their guns and wash themselves. After that, they are told to meet with Commander Pixis. The only message he gives them is to be ready for anything, as tomorrow they will face their first real trial. Instead of sleeping immediately, they question the meaning of his message, together in the barracks.

-

The morning sun rises and with it the dead.

Eren’s group walk out to the hole they’d dug yesterday. What awaits them is a group of civilians, scared and huddled together. They look sickly, and Armin is the first to realize and point out this out. It is not clear if they are bitten or not, but the group of soldiers are told so. Told they realized too late of their infection.

In the quiet, before their instructions are given, Armin whispers this to Eren and Mikasa. Ymir hears it, and passes this to Christa. Connie overhears her muttering and loudly hisses it to Sasha. Like that, the entire group is left puzzled within a couple seconds. Commander Erwin calls the soldiers to attention before they can properly assess the situation. 

They line the civilians up before the hole. They are confused, afraid, and still so human. They are told to aim at the backs of their heads and fire. They are told, always their heads. Always their brains. They are to use handguns, incredibly precise and easy. 

No one wants to shoot these people, not really. It doesn’t matter. They aim, some hands steady while others shake. The commander gives the signal. Despite their hesitance, twelve shots ring out across the field.

Armin is crying, barely able to keep his gun steady after his first shot. Ymir fires off a solid round that hits its every mark before she drops her gun and brings a sniffling Christa to her chest. Eren is angry, but his hands are steady. Sasha is shaking her head, turning away as soon as she manages to connect lead.

Mikasa and Annie are the only ones who keep on firing until the area is clear of targets. 

They call them targets. It is cold, but it is efficient, and it keeps them apart from the reality of it all. Armin is the first to realize what this is; it is just as it looks. It is target practice. They are to learn how to kill infected with the innocent lives they swore to protect as their practice dummies. 

Commander Erwin is before them once again, and he is calling them to attention, telling them to get a hold on themselves.

This is the world they have to live in from now on if they want to survive. It is a world even crueler than before, where even the dead don’t cease their attacks. Where they stand now is safe, if not covered in gore. They will have to stain their hands with blood. 

It is the life they have to lead from now on, soldiers or no. The dead would never come back as themselves, and the only way to keep on surviving was to build up their brutality. They hear it as orders to throw away their humanity.

Eren’s eyes burn holes through the back of Erwin’s head as he turns and leaves, gone to gather the next group of targets. He searches his superiors eyes for some hint of disconnect, some sign of disagreement. The only one he finds anything of the sort in is Corporal Rivaille. The man always seemed to wear a look of disapproval, but the face he wore now was far worse than any expression Eren had ever seen on him before.

He looked incredibly weary.

 

None of them know if it is worth it, and they never will. There is never enough time.


End file.
